Are you considering grammar school in the London Borough of Kingston Upon Thames? Find out how to apply and prepare for the Kingston 11 plus for September 2024 entry here. We've collated everything you need to know to ensure you and your child are fully prepared.
Register for test: via Tiffin School or Tiffin Girls' School
Registration opens: 5th June 2023
Registration closes: 4th September 2023
Exam dates: 5th October 2023 (stage 1), 9th–11th November 2023 (stage 2)
Exam board: GL Assessment (stage 1) and schools' own papers (stage 2)
Results: 17th October 2023
Apply for schools: via your local authority website (e.g. Kingston Council)
Local authority application form deadline: 31st October 2023
National school offer day: 1st March 2024
Appeals: heard by an independent panel
Dates can be subject to change, so always check with your target schools!
The 11 plus is an entrance exam used by UK grammar schools (state selective secondary schools). It's used to estimate children's academic potential and decide whether a grammar school environment will suit them. Children can take the test in the autumn term while they are in Year 6.
There are two grammar schools in Kingston upon Thames, a boys' school and a girls' school:
Both schools are academies, so their admissions criteria and appeals process are different from schools under the local authority. We always recommend reading your target school's admissions policy carefully. Distance from your home address to the school is a very important factor for both schools.
Test your knowledge
Before you register you should speak to your child’s teacher to see if the 11 plus and grammar school is right for them.
You need to register directly with the school by completing the Supplementary Information Form (SIF). This is available on the school websites between 5th June 2023 and 4th September 2023.
The schools encourage you to register as early as possible and submit any supplementary paperwork requested of you at that stage. Registrations after the deadline will not be considered.
After you register, you'll get an email in September with information about your child's Stage One test day arrangements.
If you are considering grammar schools outside Kingston, remember to register for their 11 plus exams too.
Your child will take the Stage One test on 5th October 2023. You will find out in mid-October whether your child has been invited to take the Stage Two test, which takes place between the 9th and 11th November 2023.
Once you have the results of your child's Stage One Test (and any other 11 plus exams outside Kingston), you can decide which schools to include on your local authority application form.
Before listing a school on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible:
Ensure you are in the catchment area.
Children who are not invited to take the Stage Two test are not eligible for a place, so in these cases, you should not include Tiffin Schools on your application form.
The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023.
Shortlisted children take the Stage Two test between 9th and 11th November 2023. An invitation to take the Stage Two test is not a guarantee of an offer of a school place (see scoring information below).
On 1st March 2024, you will find out which school your child has been allocated a place at. They will be allocated a place at your highest-preferred school for which they meet the entry criteria and which has places available.
If no places are available at your preferred schools, they will be offered a place at another school in your area. You can appeal the decision via the schools (Year7admi[email protected] or [email protected]). Appeals are decided by an independent panel, Surrey Schools Appeals Service.
Tiffin School considers its Priority Area to be 10km from the school in a straight line. This is measured from the permanent home address you provide on your registration form, to the nearest pedestrian entrance to the school (on London Road or Birkenhead Avenue).
Since 2019 when the Priority Area was introduced, school places have only been offered to boys who live in the Priority Area.
Tiffin Girls' catchment area is made up of an Inner Area and a Designated Area. Girls living in these areas are given priority for admissions. Since the Designated Area was introduced in 2014, school places have only been offered to girls living in it.
The school’s Inner Area includes these electoral wards:
Berrylands, Canbury Gardens, Coombe Hill, Coombe Vale, Green Lane & St James, Kingston Gate, Kingston Town, New Malden Village, Norbiton, St Mark's & Seething Wells, Surbiton Hill, Tudor, Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside.
The school’s Designated Area includes these postcodes:
KT1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 19
TW1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
SW13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
W3, 4, 5, 7, 13
SM4
CR4
Tiffin School and Tiffin Girls' School's Stage One test is provided by GL Assessment. It consists of two papers, each lasting about 60 minutes:
English
Maths
The test is entirely multiple-choice format, with no writing sections. Children record their answers in a separate answer booklet which is marked by a computer.
The questions assess your child's understanding of Key Stage 2 national curriculum content, including Year 6 objectives that they will not yet have covered at primary school. The schools don't expect children to have covered this content yet, but the exam tests their ability to reason and apply their knowledge accurately in these unfamiliar formats.
Learn about 11+ topics in depth
The Stage Two tests are created by the schools themselves and consist of written papers in English and maths. The schools do not publish any practice papers or provide much information about them.
These tests are designed to identify children who enjoy and are confident reading, writing, thinking creatively, working with numbers, and problem-solving.
After the Stage One Tests, each paper is marked to provide 'raw' scores. The raw scores are combined and standardised to even out any age disadvantage for children born later in the year.
The highest-scoring children are invited back to the Stage Two test. The number of children to invite back is calculated based on the planned admission number (PAN). Each school has a PAN of 180 for Year 7 in September 2024.
After Stage Two, the scores are again standardised. A total weighted score is calculated for each child, consisting of a percentage from the Stage One maths exam, the Stage Two maths exam and the Stage 2 English exam. The weighting varies slightly for each school.
Applicants are ranked in order of their total weighted scores and within their relevant category of selection criteria. A 10% leeway is applied to the test marks of disadvantaged children. The schools choose applicants from the top ranking scores.
Out of around 1,500 children who apply, around 450 applicants are invited back for the Stage Two test, and only 180 places are offered at each school.
Pass marks for the current year cannot be calculated until the tests have been marked and the standardised scores calculated and ranked. This is because the pass marks depend on the size and performance of the year group. Scores from recent years can be used as a general guide only.
The lowest scores that went on to be offered a place in 2022 were:
Tiffin School: 103
Tiffin Girls' School: 107
Achieving a specific score doesn't guarantee a place at the school of your choice, as schools in Kingston are oversubscribed with qualified candidates. We always recommend researching the admission policies for your target schools, looking at their oversubscription criteria and their catchment area.
For example, the schools may be more likely to admit a lower-scoring pupil who meets their priority criteria than a higher-scoring child who does not. Children will be prioritised if they:
Have a sibling at the school
Are the child of a staff member
Receive Pupil Premium
Have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
Are currently, or were previously, a Looked After Child
Live within the Designated Area
Here are our top tips on how to help your child prepare for the 2023–24 exam:
The 11 plus assesses a large breadth and depth of learning objectives. Starting at least one year before the test, using a little-and-often approach will give your child time to build the skills and knowledge they need.
When preparing, avoid falling into the trap of over-focusing on either the topics your child enjoys or the topics they find hardest.
Atom Nucleus is an 11 plus online course that tailors your child's personalised learning journey to cover all elements of the Tiffin Schools' 11 plus test at the right pace for them.
Make sure your child is familiar with all styles of questions they will experience in the test. This reduces the potential for stress on the day and will give them confidence to answer the questions to the best of their ability. Building exam technique with 11 plus test papers will help your child to feel fully prepared.
Setting regular goals and celebrating achievements will help keep motivation high. Nucleus offers data-driven insights into your child’s progress towards mastering the 11 plus curriculum, making it easy to see where they need to focus next.
Wondering how to make sure your child covers the depth and breadth of the entire 11 plus curriculum, stays on track with their progress, and gets help when they're stuck? Online learning is a particularly efficient, cost-effective (and fun) way to do this!
Atom Nucleus is the award-winning online 11 plus practice platform that gives your child everything they need to prepare for grammar school exams.
Children work independently through over 90,000 interactive practice questions in English, maths and reasoning. Teacher-created helpsheets and videos help them discover new concepts and consolidate their learning.
Atom's algorithm keeps children on their ideal learning path, tailored to their unique learning style and pace to keep them challenged and motivated.
Atom Nucleus gives children access to unlimited online practice papers. Our online tests are designed to mirror the format and style of the real Tiffin Schools' 11 plus, so your child will go into the exam knowing exactly what to expect.
And what's more, everything is automatically marked for you.
Begin your child's journey to grammar school today. Use the full features of Atom Nucleus free for 5 days – cancel anytime.
We know how keen you are for your child to do well in the 11 plus, to give them every chance of securing a place at their school of choice. Our dedicated team of Education Experts are on hand to support you and your family every step of the way:
We're happy to help with any questions you may have about admissions processes and helping your child prepare for entry to Kingston grammar schools.
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